Decision Making
by BreathtakingNoises
Summary: There's no way everybody Charles and Erik asked to join their task force actually agreed. Some refused, but each of them had a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Gail Donovan**

The two men who were sitting in front of Gail's desk when she arrived back at her office didn't look too menacing, she supposed. She'd never seen them before but judging by their age, they couldn't be that far up the Bureau's ladder.

They turned towards Gail as she entered; the youngest of the pair flashed a smile and stood up, extending a hand. The other man stood up next to him, but didn't speak.

"Charles Xavier. This is my associate, Erik Lensherr."

Gail shook their hands warily, unsure of how they got past security. Still, she put on her happy, professional face. "What can I do for you two?"

Gail rounded her desk, where she sat on her chair and set down the stack of files she'd been gathering to pore over.

Charles clasped his hands on his lap. His friend didn't seem too keen on the talking aspect of life. "We're here to ask something of you, Ms. Donovan. Before we begin – Erik?"

A paperclip lifted off of Gail's desk and spun around in the air before coming to rest on Erik's outstretched palm.

Gail narrowed her eyes; all pretenses of professionalism vanished. "How did you do that?"

Erik shrugged. "How does your brain see patterns everybody else misses?"

Her face went red. They knew, and she was screwed. Gail considered the possibility of escaping the room unscathed, but with a metal manipulator and God-knows-what at his side, escape would be virtually impossible. She was suddenly aware of the necklace around her neck, and how it resembled a noose.

Charles smiled faintly, trying to allay her fears. "We're not the enemy, Ms. Donovan. We need you to trust us. Simply put – we are mutants, just like you. Erik and I are assembling a task force to combat a mutant threat known as Sebastian Shaw. He plans to start a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. We believe you would be an asset to the team."

Gail's fingernails dug into the armrests. "So I help you, and then what? My superiors realize I'm a freak and ship me off to some remote prison for experimentation? Or, maybe, this fails and I'm killed? "

Charles winced at the word 'freak', but didn't comment on it. "If you help us, your superiors will have no idea you were involved. Yes, there is a lot of risk associated with this specific assignment, but it's vital that this pan out in our favor. Besides, your day job has quite enough risk anyway."

Still, Gail shook her head. "No way. I can't sacrifice my life for this Shaw freak. There are people I need to protect here, things I can't just leave hanging. As much as I would love to put my life on the line for a wild goose chase, I can't." Not to mention that the metal bending guy was really starting to remind her of a henchman.

Charles sighed. "You would forsake your duty of protecting American citizens? I honestly expected more from somebody in your office."

Gail shot him a disparaging look. "Using my patriotism against me won't work. This thing you're planning is going to end in blood. Besides – " She took a hard look at Erik – "Lensherr, isn't that a German name?"

He snorted, breaking the henchman façade, a smirk curling onto the edges of his lips. "You caught me. Ms. Donovan, we believe that with your help, there will be less bloodshed. Please consider joining us."

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. It was a while before she responded.

"I can't. Like I said, there are too many people relying on me to just get up and leave to save the world. Mr. Xavier, Mr. Lensherr, I hope you find some mutants with time on their hands. "


	2. Chapter 2

**Andrew Fitzpatrick**

The two strange men showed up at Andrew's mother's house late on a Sunday afternoon. Andrew answered the door with his mother's apron on, already suspicious. He was making dinner tonight, like all nights, as it had become their way of living.

Andrew had deep bruises under his eyes and his hair was greasy and matted. His nails were chipped and dirty, but the house behind him was spotless. In his hand he held an oven mitt and a tired smile that he put on for the visitors, even if he wasn't sure if they would try to rob him or something. He thought they looked normal, but in his experience, appearances were only a small fraction of the puzzle.

The more friendly-looking man smiled warmly and said, "Andrew, I'm Charles Xavier and this is my associate, Erik Lensherr. Could we come in and talk to you for a moment?"

Andrew poked around in their amygdalas, trying to scare them into leaving. Charles was ignoring the fear, but next to him, Erik was sweating and clenching his hands into fists on the railing.

"I'm in the middle of cooking dinner. If you could come back another time, that would be –"

Charles sent a message into his mind, bypassing the weak barriers with ease. "We know about your mutation."

Andrew let up on his mind torture, leaving Erik clutching at the wrought iron railing, which was now bent under his grasp.

Andrew said, a tone of anxiety creeping into his voice, "I – I'm so sorry for harassing you like that. Please, come in. Just, I'm in the middle of making dinner for my mother and I, and I can't really leave it for long…"

"That's fine."

They followed him into the kitchen, where he busied himself with the cooking of a casserole and soup. All the while, Andrew talked to the two men, too busy to meet their eyes.

"What do two mutants want with me?"

"We need your help. There's a situation – a man by the name of Sebastian Shaw. He and his team of mutants are attempting to start the Cold War. We believe that with your help, our team will have what it needs to fight more effectively."

He smiled as he cut up carrots – from the smell, it was chicken soup. "Do you want me to make your soldiers fearless, give them the motivation to win?"

Erik leaned against the wall, offering up a rare remark. "That, and you could make Shaw and his crew paranoid or scare them into surrendering."

Charles nodded. "Exactly. And you wouldn't even need to enter the actual combat – with some training, your mutation could reach longer distances, and you could sit on the sidelines."

"And when exactly do you want me to do this?" Andrew was busily cutting up carrots now, avoiding their stares.

"Now, preferably. We have a facility in which you would be able to meet the team and start refining your powers."

Andrew sighed and turned his back to them, stirring the soup and checking on the casserole. "Look, this saving the world thing sounds great and all, but I can't leave my mother." He turned around, meeting their eyes; his true feelings came through now, but there was nothing he could do. "She's – I'm the only one who can make her happy after Dad died. Before I came here, she was indefinitely on suicide watch. At least I can make her stable enough to get up in the morning. I know what this means to you and to the world and all, but there's – she's my mother, and I can't leave her." He choked on the last words, bowing his head. "I'm sorry."

And Charles saw Andrew's life played out like a movie – he offered the memories to Charles, putting them to the front of his mind and laying them out like a confession. Studying to become a psychologist, always wanting to help others; having friends who took advantage of his kind nature and played him for a fool. Hoping all this would be behind him in college, and having to drop out and come home for his mother.

Charles went up to Andrew and rested his hand on a shoulder, gripping him tightly. "Your duty is here. Good luck, Andrew."

He watched the two strange men leave with tears streaming down his cheeks.


End file.
